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Billy Beane was the king of the front offices just a few years ago, but a future loss of MLB Revenue Sharing and not being able to recoup 1st RD Draft picks by losing star players will hurt them even greater. The AL West also has 4 big market clubs residing it now, with Houston being a lot better than they were in 2013 and 2014 when they first joined the Division from the National League, This time frame was the best the A’s have seen of recent vintage. it will be a tough grind for Oakland to compete until a new stadium is built.

While the news of taxing the higher revenue generating teams will work to bridge the top teams to the mid – market revenue clubs. the abolishing of a 1st RD Draft Pick compensation pick being lost to franchises for having signed one of their Qualifying Offer rejected players will hurt many franchises.

Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Oakland. Colorado, San Diego and Milwaukee all had days in my opinion. The Rays, Twins, Reds and Marlins are not too far from list either, however all of those organizations also are not good shape with the new pact either, however they are not as bad as the top 6 clubs.

The Pirates were already thinking about trading Andrew McCutchen, and this should give a violent shove in that direction.

Under the old agreement . these teams may have been more apt to take their chances on a playoff run – sighting at least a 1st RD Draft Pick would be coming back their way should their superstars leave their squads.Read the rest of this entry →

P- Tanner Roark (vs. Philadelphia Phillies): $9,300. Roark has dominated the Phillies this year. In four starts against Philadelphia, Roark has a 0.64 ERA. In his last start against the Phils, he went seven scoreless innings. Over his last three starts, he has a 1-2 record, 3.18 ERA, and 12 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched.

P- Yordano Ventura (vs. Chicago White Sox): $8,600. Over Ventura’s last three starts, he has a 2-0 record with a 2.20 ERA. He has struggled with control at times, but if he can limit his walks, he has the potential to put up a huge game on Friday. In 115 career at bats against Ventura, the White Sox offense is batting .209, with a .264 OBP, and 29 strikeouts.

P- Gio Gonzalez (vs. Washington Nationals): $9,300. Over his last three starts, Gio is 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA, and 17 strikeouts in 17.2 innings pitched. He has yet to win against the Braves this season, but he has a 2.31 ERA against them in his two starts. Atlanta’s offense has actually been pretty successful over their past seven games, but they rank 28th in OPS against left-handed pitchers in 2016. Based on their struggles against lefties and Gio’s career success against the Braves, I think he is a no brainer.

P-Jason Hammel (vs. Milwaukee Brewers): $7,500. Hammel has struggled a bit over the last few starts, but he got back on track after throwing six innings of one run ball against the Pirates his last time on the mound. In 107 career at bats against Hammel, the Brewers’ offense is batting .243, with a .327 OBP, and a .432 slugging percentage. These stats are average, but I think Hammel can take care of business on Tuesday. The main reason I’m starting him is because I think his price is very fair and brings about a lot of value. In three starts against the Brewers this season, Hammel has thrown 18 innings, giving up six runs, and he has struck out 18 batters.

P- Max Scherzer (vs. Atlanta Braves): $13,600. Everyday is a good day to start Max Scherzer, unless he isn’t starting of course. In 162 career at bats against Scherzer, the Braves’ lineup is batting .204, with a .267 OBP, and a .358 slugging percentage. As you can tell by the numbers, they have not faired well against this righty. Over the last seven days the Braves’ offense has a .717 OPS, which ranks 26th in Major League Baseball.

P- Matt Moore (vs. New York Mets): $8,400. Over his last 13 starts, Moore has gone at least six innings, which is great for any daily fantasy league. Over the last seven days, the Mets have a .740 OPS, which ranks 24th in Major League Baseball. They also rank in the bottom third of the league in almost every offensive category against left-handed pitchers in 2016. The Mets have struggled offensively all year long, so hopefully that continues against Moore on Saturday.

P – Stephen Strasburg(vs. Arizona Diamondbacks): $12,900. With such a small slate today, Strasburg is easily the best option at pitcher. He is averaging 10.93 strikeouts per nine innings this year, which is huge for daily fantasy. The Diamondbacks offense has struggled over the past seven days, so hopefully Strasburg can take advantage.

P – CC Sabathia(vs. New York Mets): $7,600. In 116 career at bats against Sabathia, the New York Mets are only batting .216, with a .248 OBP, and 35 strikeouts. In his last outing, he was pretty impressive against a very tough Astros lineup, so the Mets should be a cake walk.

P- Clayton Kershaw (vs. San Francisco Giants): $13,900. In 237 career at bats against Kershaw, the Giants’ offense is batting .148, with 76 strikeouts, and only 10 walks, with a .189 OBP. Kershaw has been absolutely dominant all year long and regardless of his high price, he is a must start. In 12 starts, he is 8-1, with a 1.46 ERA, 54 hits against, 109 strikeouts, and only 6 walks in 92.2 innings pitched.

P- Ian Kennedy (vs. Chicago White Sox): $9,300. In 78 career at bats against Kennedy, the White Sox’ offense is batting .244, with 20 strikeouts, five RBIs, and a .272 OBP. The White Sox offense has also struggled quite a bit recently. In the past seven days, the White Sox rank 28th in runs scored (20), 27th in batting average (.212), and 21st in OBP (.300).

In order to afford this lineup, I am using the KC Royals in another mini stack, imploring the use of Alcides Escobar, Alex Gordon and Omar Infante. All 3 men are decent contact free swingers, who can do damage against Nate Eovaldi.

Since Aaron Hill crushed it last Saturday night with Kershaw’s start in the same day – I put him in the lineup again. Not bad value for $2100 the way he has performed recently.

From November 1st, World Series Game 4:

Receiving 1 WOO’s and WOWS

Luke Hochevar gave the Royals 2 critical shutout innings in the 10th and the 11th where a single Mets run would have forced a game 6. He allowed no hits and walked just 1 and earned the World Series clinching victory in relief for Kansas City, 7-2.

Eric Hosmer broke the Mets shutout with a double in the 9th and dashed home to score the tying run on a wild play with 2 outs in the 9th.

Receiving 1/2 WOO’s and WOWS

Curtis Granderson led off the game with a homer and later scored on a sacrifice fly. In the end, the Mets would collapse in the 9th and lose in the 12th to the Royals, 7-2.

Matt Harvey took a World Series saving shutout into the 9th inning, striking out 9 along the way. He finished with 8 plus innings, 5 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks but would get a heart breaking no decision as the Royals rallied to beat the Mets in 12 innings, 7-2.

From October 28th, World Series Game 2:

Receiving 1 WOO’s and WOWS

Johnny Cueto pitched the first AL complete game victory in the World Series since 1991, allowing 2 hits and 1 run and giving a weary bullpen the night off as the Royals cruised to a 7-1 victory over the Mets.

Alcides Escobar tied the game with an RBI single and broke it open with a 2 run triple to lead Kansas City to a 7-1 thumping of the Mets.

Receiving 1/2 WOO’s and WOWS

Lucas Duda was the Mets offense, collecting their only 2 hits and driving in their only run as they got crushed by the Royals, 7-1.

From October 27th, World Series Game 1:

Receiving 1 WOO’s and WOWS

Chris Young came out of the bullpen to throw three no hit shutout innings, walking 1 and striking out 4 Mets, earning the 14 inning 5-4 Kansas City victory in relief.

Ben Zobrist reached base 4 times, including a pair of doubles, a run scored and a 14th inning hit that put the winning run at third with nobody out. The run would come into score eventually and the Royals took game 1, 5-4 over the Mets.

Receiving 1/2 WOO’s and WOWS

Daniel Murphy saw his home run streak end but he got 2 more hits and scored a run in the Mets 5-4 loss to Kansas City.

Jonathon Niese threw a pair of dynamic innings out of the bullpen, striking out 3 Royals and allowing just 1 hit and no runs. The Mets would lose 5-4 in 14 innings.

Driving past the old Johnny Carson studios, I started thinking about how the consumption of baseball has changed since 1985, 1986 and 1993, the last times the Royals, Mets and Blue Jays won the World Series.

Also I talked about the not exactly eventful Game 1 of the ALCS.

Heeeeeere’s Sully on The Sully Baseball Daily Podcast!

Alcides Escobar, Edinson Volquez and Josh Donaldson all added to their totals of Who Owned October.

But WOO tallies every post season game, from the Wild Card Game all the way to the final pitch of Game 7 of the World Series.

So not only are the Giants and Royals represented, but so are the Orioles, Cardinals, Tigers, Athletics, Angels, Pirates, Dodgers and Nationals.

Hunter Pence, Pablo Sandoval, Brandon Crawford, Nelson Cruz, Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, Travis Ishikawa, Buster Posey and Kolten Wong all got 2 or higher WOO as hitters to trail Cain’s total of 4. Interestingly Bryce Harper also got 2 WOO even though his Nationals lost the Division Series and did not have the ability to pad his total in the LCS and World Series.

Bumgarner’s 6 1/2 WOO total was more than double the next name, his teammate Yusmeiro Petit who pitched to a 3 WOO all in relief.

Did Madison Bumgarner get the Win or Save tonight? Oh it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that he dominated like no pitcher I have ever seen in my life. 1 run in 21 World Series innings? Being the pitcher to clinch the World Series?

It was a World Series for the ages.

Hunter Pence hit the homer in the top of the first in Game 1 that set the tone of the World Series. He would hit ,429 with a homer and 5 RBI. He got 2 more hits in the Game 7 finale and scored a run.

They were the pitcher and the hitter who owned the 2014 World Series.

Kelvin Herrera with his stellar relief work for the Royals earned 1 1/2 WOWs as well.

Each winning team for every World Series game gets a pitcher and a hitter who earn a full WOO (Who Owns the World Series.)

And at my discretion, I award a 1/2 WOWS to a worthy player on the losing team.

From October 29th World Series Game 7:

MadisonBumgarner finished his historic post season with 5 shutout innings out of the bullpen, holding Kansas City to 2 hits and clinched the World Series for the Giants with a 3-2 win.

Pablo Sandoval capped off a marvelous World Series with a 3-3 performance, reaching base 4 times, scoring twice played solid defense and caught the final out as the Giants took Game 7, 3-2 in Kansas City.

Receiving 1/2 WOO’s and WOWS

Alex Gordon went 2-4, scored a run, drove in a run and hit the dramatic 2 out hit that took him all the way to third in the bottom of the 9th. He was stranded as the Royals fell 3-2 to the Giants.

Kelvin Herrera pitched the Royals out of trouble with 2 2/3 shutout innings of relief, striking out 4 and walking none. San Francisco would hold on to win, 3-2.

Madison Bumgarner‘s complete game shutout tonight was obviously worth his title of Owning October and the World Series tonight. But it did more than that.

His 5 1/2 WOO (Who Owns October) total for the post season can not be passed. With only 2 games left, nobody can pass Bumgarner. Hunter Pence, Lorenzo Cain and Yusmeiro Petit all have a total of 3. Even if they pick up a WOO the last 2 games, they can not pass Bumgarner.

So October 2014 is officially owned by Madison Bumgarner. Savor this amazing post season.

Each winning team for every post season game gets a pitcher and a hitter who earn a full WOO (Who Owns October.)

And at my discretion, I award a 1/2 WOO’S to a worthy player on the losing team.

When it comes to the World Series, I do a separate tally: WOWS (Who Owns the World Series.)

It is important to separate Postseason and World Series accomplishments. It is the purist in me.

From October 26th World Series Game 5:

Receiving 1 WOO’s and WOWS

Madison Bumgarner continued his October dominance with his second complete game shutout of the month and second win of the series. He allowed just 4 Kansas City hits, walked, none and struck out 8, giving the Giants a 5-0 victory.

Brandon Crawford got 2 hits and drove in 3 runs, leading the Giants offense to beat the Royals 5-0.

Receiving 1/2 WOO’s and WOWS

James Shields kept the Royals in the game with 6 solid innings, working out of jams and let up just 2 runs. He would be the hard luck loser to the Giants 5-0.

Sully Baseball In Memoriam Video For All Baseball Family Who Passed From 2015 ASG – 2016 ASG

The Last No – Hitter For Each MLB Franchise Updated For Jake Arrieta Apr 21, 2016

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The MLB BallPark Pass-Port Is A Must Purchase For Those Planning To See All 30

The Ballpark Passport is quickly becoming the favorite item among Ballpark Chasers, to chronicle their life goal to see all 30 Major League Parks. You are able to receive the stamps kit for a small additional price. At around $75 all combined, it will contain one of the biggest memento's ever for a Ballpark Chaser's best bucket list wish ever#Greatgiftidea

The Top 50 Contracts ALL – Time in the MLB – Updated For The Stephen Strasburg Extension

A look at the richest 50 MLB Contracts Of ALL - Time. Click the picture

The Phillies have agreed to a minor-league deal with outfielder Daniel Nava, Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on Twitter. Nava, 33, spent last year with the Angels and (briefly) the Royals. It has been some time since Nava was a productive major leaguer. He put up a roughly league-average batting line in 2014…

The Dodgers have outrighted utilityman Charlie Culberson, as J.P. Hoornstra of the Los Angeles News Group tweets. With the move, Los Angeles has one opening on its 40-man roster. Culberson, 27, saw only 68 plate appearances last year with the Dodgers, hitting .299/.309/.388 with a single home run. But he made that dinger count: it…

Brewers righty Phil Bickford has been hit with a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a drug of abuse for the second time, as Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times tweets. Bickford reportedly tested positive for marijuana before being drafted in 2015. Players on 40-man rosters are not at risk of suspension for marijuana…

DECEMBER 9: Arizona appears to have acknowledged the signing via Twitter, with a clever nod to Rodney’s post-save, arrow-shooting celebration. Jack Magruder of Fan Rag tweeted the details of the incentives clause, which he says maxes out at $4MM. That includes $250K apiece if and when Rodney reaches 40, 50, and 60 appearances, with a…

The Tigers have announced a barrage of minor-league signings, most notably including a reunion with former Detroit infielder Omar Infante. Other players receiving Spring Training invites include pitchers Ruben Alaniz, William Cuevas, Logan Kensing, Dustin Molleken, as well as catcher Miguel Gonzalez. Infante, who’ll soon turn 35, enjoyed two prior runs in th […]